George Russell, the Mercedes driver who is struggling to get on podiums, is trying to be a little optimistic with the car’s pace that is still hidden in the locker. Red Bull and Aston Martin initiated a two-way battle for the 2023 championship. Ferrari is somehow flourishing in a three-way battle. But Mercedes, being a fourth team, is yet to find the pace at which the rivals are optimizing.
The results from the Bahrain Grand Prix and The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix are not worth calling satisfactory for Mercedes. It is quite improving from last year. But for a team with eight constructors’ championships, it is somehow humiliating to get overpassed by the customer Aston Martin. The most unacceptable thing for Mercedes must have been Russell’s promotion to the third on the podium following Fernando Alonso‘s penalty and then back to fourth, as Alonso deserved it well. But looks like the Silver Arrows are trying to bring a game-changer upgrade so that no one could come in between the team and the podium or, let’s say the championship.
According to George Russell, after a little work on W14 in Jeddah, its pace was enhanced. The performance was “better in a week than we found it almost in a month,” he said. After he and Lewis Hamilton succeeded in surpassing both the Ferrari drivers in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, this encouraged Mercedes to bring a more radical change in the design of the W14 car. Apparently, the one reason why the team started the season with disappointments is the “wrong direction” they were on. And now, the 25-year-old Mercedes drivers are claiming, “We made a step in the right direction,” as quoted by Auto Motor Sports.
George Russell Still Hopeful For Good Times For Mercedes
The 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix winner can still sense the maximized potential of the Mercedes W14 car. Evidently, the qualifying session at Jeddah was really strong, as George Russell enjoyed last Saturday very well. Although coming home with P4 was a little adequate for him. “It was the maximum that was possible.” Doing the best he could, the Briton found it fun driving on the tracks of Jeddah Corniche.
Meanwhile, speaking about the upcoming races, Russell cleared that he is aiming for a better performance again. The W14 is behaving better, and “We have got some more performance in the locker in the upcoming Sundays to come,” he said. So, yes, Saudia Arabia GP was better than Bahrain. Now, the upcoming Australian Grand Prix will witness how Mercedes will get back to the front if that will happen.
However, asking about the comeback, Russell claimed that maybe Imola will become Mercedes’ return track, or maybe a little bit earlier. He thinks that there is always a bit wary of catching up on the street tracks. The mistakes Mercedes has made will not be repeated. Urging fans to keep their hopes alive, Russell reckoned that the longer you wait, the better you achieve. The development of the car comes with more efficiency with more time. Therefore, the only target Mercedes holds right now is to WIN RACES, and George Russell is by no means down in being positive for fighting for the championship.